THE SECOND DIVISION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1752, 15 November 1917, Page 3

THE SECOND DIVISION.

NEW ZEALAND’S CLEAR DUTY. The necessity for the maintenance of New Zealand’s full quota of reinforcements was again emphasised hy the Minister for Defence, Sir James Allen, in Auckland on Saturday. His remarks were based upon the Russian situation, in the first instance. Commenting thereon, Sir James said: — “The thing a Britisher always prides himself upon is that when he is up against a difficult situation he sets his teeth and faces it. From the Allies’ point of view the turn of events in Russia is bad luck, but we can only hope that the luck will turn. We have to hope on, and to hang on and win, and we can win, in ray opinion. This is really the test of the nation. “So far as (he Dominion is concerned, we must not slacken in our efforts to keep up (he necessary reinforcements in.order to maintain our division at its full strength. We cannot quit; we have to sec it through.’| The Minister said there was no truth whatever in the rumour that it was intended to stop calling up the men of the Second Division when Class B —men with one child ■—had been exhausted. The whole of the Second Division would, if necessary, lie called up hy ballot in turn in the' usual way. A .statement in circulation, attributed to a member of the Government, to the effect that the war was unlikely to end before every man of military age was called up, was referred to Sir James. In comment he remarked : “It is a very hold man who will state that the war will not end before every Second Division man in Now Zealand has taken up arms. I have every hope that it will end before every Second Division man in New Zealand has taken up arras. I have every hope that it will end before then. As regards the suggestion reported to have been made by the same member of the Government that the military age will be extended to 55 or 69, as far as I know we would have to be in a most desperate position before we raised the age limit over 45, asmt present. We are not sending any men over 44 out of the Dominion now because we liqd they cannot stand the winter iq the trenche.". In my opinion the Second Division with the present age limit will last us well into 1919, so far as the call into camp is concerned, taking into consideration the accretions always coining in of First Division men attaining military age. I cannot give definite figures now, but class A men will not all be in camp until next May.”